Sunday, September 4, 2011

Tokyo Disney Sea - 10th Anniversary!

Today is Tokyo DisneySea's 10th anniversary. In honor of that milestone, we'll be taking a look today at the different lands or "ports" that make up the park.

We will begin with Mediterranean Harbor which is located at the entrance to the park. In this first pic we are standing under a pergola, looking across the harbor at Mt. Prometheus and Fortress Explorations. Down below we can see one of the Venetian Gondolas leaving the canals and entering the open harbor.

If we back up just a bit, we get a better view of the pergola.

The park's dedication plaque is actually located underneath this structure.

Here is a view of Mediterranean Harbor from one of the entrance/exit tunnels to the Mysterious Island section of the park. The buildings in the distance are all a part of Tokyo DisneySea's Mira Costa Hotel.

Next, we'll visit the American Waterfront. Below, is a shot of the Broadway Music Theater. (Think DCA's Hyperion Theater, but this one is actually "finished" on both the outside and the inside!)

I've mentioned before that the American Waterfrom is divided into two themed areas. Below, is a shot taken from the Cape Cod section, looking across the water at the New York section.

McDuck's Department Store can be seen on the far left of the photo above. In the past, we've taken a look at the front of the store as well as it's interior (click here). Below, is a shot of the store's rear entrance which is designed to look like a pawn shop.

Just around the corner from the rear entrance of the store is sort of a "back alley."

Now we're entering the Arabian Coast. This structure houses the Casbah Food Court. Notice the elaborate lampposts in the foreground.

These next three pics show more of the streets that wind through this section of the park.

This shot was taken while standing in another one of the tunnels in the Mysterious Island section of the park. The domed structure is a shop called Nautilus Gifts. The metal bridge behind it, is one of just two small outdoor portions of the Journey To The Center Of The Earth attraction....the rest of that ride is located entirely inside Mt. Prometheus and it's surrounding rock work.

Located underneath Nautilus Gifts is Nautilus Galley, a restaurant with seating alongside the DisneySea waterway.

This shot shows a stairway that leads down to the Nautilus Galley, as well as the Nautilus Submarine which is docked next to the restaurant's seating area.

Here's another shot of the Nautilus, taken from the exit to the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction. A tunneling contraption can also be seen hanging from a crane on the side of Mt. Prometheus.

This is the Lost River Delta, which is located in the back of the park. The yellow boat is part of the DisneySea Transit Steamer Line that takes guests for a ride along the waterway that runs throughout the park.

Now we're standing on one of the bridges that cross over that waterway. In the distance is the Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skull attraction.

Here's a look at some of the buildings in the Lost River Delta......

.....and the entrance to Miguel's El Dorado Cantina.

This is Port Discovery. The structure in the center of the photo is the two-sided loading station for the Aquatopia attraction.

Each of the Aquatopia vehicles follow a slightly different path than the boat in front of them. The DisneySea Electric Railway can be seen passing by in the distance.

Herer's a Port Discovery-themed bench......and Horizon Bay restaurant is visible in the background.

This is just part of Horizon Bay's exterior.

And finally, we enter into Mermaid Lagoon. Most of this area is located indoors, but today we will just look at some of it's outdoor vending carts. The photo below shows a themed beverage stand.

This stand is called Grotto Goodies and sells dessert items.

Even the popcorn wagons are heavily themed. (To see a previous post on the themed popcorn wagons of Tokyo Disneyland, click here.)

Just for good measure, I'm throwing in two more shots that show detailing from this area of the park. This is an exit door to the indoor section of Mermaid Lagoon.

And here is a themed mail box. It's all in the details!

I've mentioned before that Tokyo DisneySea and Tokyo Disneyland have specially designed merchandise for every anniversary....every year! This is the logo from last year for Tokyo DisneySea's 9th Anniversary.

5 comments:

Jeez, what an incredible park! Those photos really show the care and detail that went into every inch of TDS. In many cases, it's hard to believe that we're looking at a theme park. Looks like it's not even especially crowded (or are the pictures deceiving?). Man, I'd sure love to visit the parks in Tokyo someday - meanwhile I haven't even made it to Florida, so it seems unlikely!!

Major, at times, you really do feel like you are in New York, Cape Cod, the Mediterranean, etc. The park is THAT detailed. The strange thing is, the park does not seem to be as crowded now as it was when it was newer. I've been told that's because a lot of the locals come to the Tokyo Disney Resort just for the day and have to choose between the two parks and most of them end up choosing to go to Tokyo Disneyland instead.

Connie and SWS, I hope you do get to visit Tokyo DisneySea!

Dan, yep...10 years goes by pretty fast. I was kind of wondering about the Little Mermaid attraction too. I don't know if there is room for it in the Mermaid Lagoon section since that area is in the middle of the park and surrounded by other "ports." There is a backstage area in the center of the park, so there might be some room....I'll have to look at a satellite view of the park. My fear is that they would take out their incredible Little Mermaid show and use the theater for the dark ride....I hope they DON'T do that!